Voice Movement Research Articles

Singing the Psyche: Uniting Thought and Feeling through the Voice: Voice Movement Therapy in Practice, Anne M. Brownell, Deirdre A. Brownell and Gina H. Mulder (eds) (2023)

Review of: Singing the Psyche: Uniting Thought and Feeling through the Voice: Voice Movement Therapy in Practice, Anne M. Brownell, Deirdre A. Brownell and Gina H. Mulder (eds) (2023) Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher, 320 pp., ISBN 978-0-39809-424-9, p/bk, $28.95

Singing the Psyche: Uniting Thought and Feeling through the Voice: Voice Movement Therapy in Practice, Anne M. Brownell, Deirdre A. Brownell and Gina H. Mulder (eds) (2023)

Review of: Singing the Psyche: Uniting Thought and Feeling through the Voice: Voice Movement Therapy in Practice, Anne M. Brownell, Deirdre A. Brownell and Gina H. Mulder (eds) (2023) Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher, 320 pp., ISBN 978-0-39809-424-9, p/bk, $28.95

How to teach a puppet to sing: exploring posthuman perspectives on the ‘natural’ voice alongside The Walk (2021)

ABSTRACT In this article I explore the construct of the ‘natural’ voice within the context of the natural voice movement, before invoking perspectives on voice from the posthumanities and D/deaf studies in discussion of The Walk, a performance between a puppet, a natural voice choir, a refugee choir and a large audience that occurred in London in October 2021. Methodologically, this paper is an attempt at ‘thinking with theory’ (Jackson, Alecia Youngblood, and Lisa A. Mazzei. 2017. “Thinking with Theory: A New Analytic for Qualitative Inquiry.” In The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by N. K. Denzin, and Y. Lincoln, 717–737. Sage) – specifically thinking voice alongside theoretical stimuli from the posthumanities through the doing of ethnography – in the hope of provoking useful flights of thought in relation to the practice and study of music education and community music. I conclude by considering my personal rationale for engaging with the posthumanities as a means of researching community singing within the natural voice movement. A protean version of this article was presented as a paper-presentation at the Grieg Research School in Bergen, Norway in 2022.

As vozes são muito mais que um sintoma

Abstract The international Hearing Voices Movement, which emerged in the 1980s, understands the phenomenon of hearing voices not just as a symptom, but helps in the development of strategies to deal with these voices. The objective of this study was to understand how people who participated in groups of voice hearers in the Brazilian health system dealt with such experiences. This was a qualitative research study, carried out in 2020, with data collection from in-depth interviews and field diary, analyzed using content analysis. Adult participants (4) attended the group for more than a month. It was possible to explore the individual coping strategies developed from the experiences of each one with their voices. The group was also an instrument of socialization and, from the normalization of the experience, of greater self-acceptance and reduction of stigma.

Adaptation of a Hearing Voices Group Facilitation Training for VA Stakeholders

The Hearing Voices (HV) Movement promotes diverse understandings of voice-hearing and seeing visions, which mental health professionals commonly refer to as ‘auditory hallucinations,’ ‘schizophrenia,’ or ‘psychosis.’ Central to this movement are peer support groups through which attendees connect with others who have similar experiences. This paper describes an adaptation of a Hearing Voices group facilitation training at VA Greater Los Angeles (VAGLA) and discusses training modifications, along with trainee perceptions and implementation and intervention outcomes. This is a first step towards adapting HV-inspired groups to VA systems of care. Data collection involved surveys of trainees (n = 18) and field notes throughout the 24 h online training. Findings indicate high acceptability and appropriateness of the training and high feasibility in implementation, suggesting the training was well-adapted to VAGLA. This research contributes to global efforts to integrate the Hearing Voices approach in diverse settings and increase awareness about its benefits among providers.

Voice, Body Cues and Facial Expression in Emotion Recognition of Spanish Children and Adolescents: The Validation of Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Test.

Emotion recognition has been traditionally measured trough the recognition of emotional expressions of static faces. Studies suggest that emotion recognition is progressively acquired from early stages in our infancy. However, the literature regarding other emotional domains such as voice or body movements is scarce. Additionally, the number of tools that integrate several domains is limited, especially in children and adolescents, and none of them tested in Spanish samples. Therefore, this study aimed to define the psychometric properties of the Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task (BLERT) and a new-designed alternate version providing normative data in Spanish children and adolescents (from 8 to 15 years old corresponding to 3th). Moreover, we aim to describe the emotional acquisition trajectory of children and adolescents with a tool that integrates voice, face expressions and body movements. For that purpose, BLERT was translated into Spanish (BLERT-SI) and an alternate version was created (BLERT-SII). A total of 545 children and adolescents from 8 to 15 year-old participated in the study (250 male/295 female). All participants fulfilled BLERT-SI and BLERT-SII within two weeks of difference. Order of presentation was counterbalanced. Results showed that BLERT-SI and SII have good internal consistency (α = .70 and 71 respectively). Test-retest reliability showed a moderate correlation (r = .45; p < .001). Percentages equivalences per age are provided. Age correlated with BLERT-SI (r = .31; p < .001) and BLERT-SII (r = .21; p < .001), showing a progressive acquisition and development of emotion recognition during this period. BLERT-SI and SII are useful tools when studying the follow-up of children and adolescents.

High spirits: heavy metal and mental health

High spirits: heavy metal and mental health

Minimum requirements for the distance advocacy courses for the prosecutor's office

The article details the development of teaching materials, methodical recommendations and instructions for the distance advocacy courses for the prosecutor's office and the minimum requirements for their examination. Unlike traditional advanced training courses, the teaching materials of distance learning courses are methodological recommendations and preparations for the successful implementation of various tests and effective organization of educational activities. Training materials are prepared in video or voice formation in videos, and voice movements are mutually compatible, ensured compliance with formal language rules, is not allowed to use various jars, Teba words.

‘I had to adapt to survive’ – building narratives with attendees at an ‘unusual experiences’ group

Within mental health care there are competing narratives to explain unusual phenomena. As such, there can be a complex interplay between personal stories and the approach of different professionals. In this article two attendees reflect on their attendance at a bespoke group programme delivered in a medium-secure unit. This group was built on the foundations of the Hearing Voices Movement, though consolidated by the integration of relevant psychological theory. We present our group as a compassionate and person-centred approach to making meaning of unusual experiences. However, we also emphasise the role of theory to support the development of helpful explanatory frameworks.

"I'm Not Telling an Illness Story. I'm Telling a Story of Opportunity": Making Sense of Voice Hearing Experiences.

This study aimed to explore how adults with lived experiences of voice hearing, who have participated in hearing voices groups based on approaches of the Hearing Voices Movement, understand their voice hearing experiences (VHE). A phenomenological approach guided the study design. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with five participants who attended a hearing voices group. Participants experienced a journey of understanding VHE. The overarching theme 'tension and recalibration' permeated five themes: beliefs about voices; navigating the relationship with my voices; learning to live with my voices; rediscovering myself with my voices; and, influences to understanding my voices. This study highlights how voice hearers' understanding can evolve over time and throughout phases of recovery. Implications regarding intervention to support individuals to explore VHE are discussed.

Synergy in Voice and Lip Movement for Automatic Person Recognition

Synergy in Voice and Lip Movement for Automatic Person Recognition

Making Sense of Voices: a case series

ABSTRACTThe current evidence-base for the psychological treatment of distressing voices indicates the need for further clinical development. The Maastricht approach (also known as Making Sense of Voices) is popular within sections of the Hearing Voices Movement, but its clinical effectiveness has not been systematically evaluated. The aim of the approach is to develop a better understanding of the role of the voice, in part through opening a dialogue between the voice hearer and the voice. The current study was a (N = 15) case series adopting a concurrent multiple baseline design. The Maastricht approach was offered for up to 9-months. The main outcome, weekly voice-related distress ratings, was not statistically significant during intervention or follow-up, although the effect size was in the moderate range. The PSYRATS Hallucination scale was associated with a large effect size both at the end of treatment, and after a 3-month follow-up period, although again the effect did not reach statistical significance. The results suggest further evaluation of the approach is warranted. However, given the large variance in individual participant outcome, it may be that a better understanding of response profiles is required before conducting a definitive randomised controlled trial.

Pinchar un PDF. Acercamientos al diaporama performativo

La mayoría de lxs profesorxs universitarixs y de lxs artistas utilizan el diaporama en PDF —o cualquier otro de los numerosos softwares que ofrecen los dispositivos digitales— para acompañar sus discursos, siendo ello consecuencia del paradigma de conocimiento audiovisual contemporáneo, donde la palabra y la imagen en movimiento parecen indisolubles. Este aparataje, que suele pasar desapercibido o darse por sentado, incita a reflexionar sobre el diaporama como plataforma de significado en sí mismo. En consecuencia, propongo dirigir este soporte lowtech hacia la conferencia performativa, disciplina que hace borrosas las fronteras entre la teoría y la práctica y que puede hacer tartamudear esta coreografía del poder que es la conferencia sobre diapositivas. Los movimientos dislocados de teclas, voz, pantallas, proyecciones o ratones otorgan a la «performance de PDF» un carácter de multitarea que muestra al mismo nivel work in progress y voice in progress. Con esta estrategia, consigo que la información atraviese el cuerpo y reflexiono sobre cómo, cuánto y desde dónde se miran los archivos para paliar una creciente miopía dialéctica. En definitiva, trato de abordar desde la historia y la especulación el «Formato de Documento Portátil independiente» que me encuentro rellenando en este preciso momento.

The power of psychiatry: a service user’s first person account and perspective

ABSTRACTDr. Ben Gray is an academic and researcher in the field of mental health and was also diagnosed (or rather labelled) with schizophrenia in 2003, when he spent a total of 12 months in a mental health hospital. In this article, he relates his personal experience and story to make a polemical and admittedly one-sided case against traditional psychiatry and compulsory medical treatment. He ties his experience to a modern anti-psychiatry inspired by the radical works of Laing, Szasz, Basaglia and Foucault, explores what Laing might call a contemporary ‘politics of experience’. He concludes that there needs to be more attention paid to voice hearers’ stories and accounts of mental illness, which he links to the rise of democratic psychiatry and the growth of the hearing voices movement, headed by organisations such as Intervoice, Asylum Magazine, MindFreedom, Working to Recovery and the Hearing Voices Network. This personal account is also written partly in response to The Power of Psychiatry, by P. Miller and N. Rose (1986, Cambridge: Polity) and Governing the Soul: The shaping of the private self, by N. Rose (1999, London: Free Association Books), that suggest a growth in subtle, gentle and confessional ‘techniques of self’ (such as talking therapies, counselling, psychotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy) to regulate ‘problem populations’ such as those with mild mental illness. This personal account suggests that psychiatry is the opposite because it is paternalistic, forced, coercive, disempowering and punitive against people with severe mental illness under Section.

‘I think we are still very directive’: Teachers’ discourses on democratic student participation

The objective of this study [Susinos, T. (Dir.), ‘Schools moving towards inclusion: Learning from the local community, the student voice and educational support’ (I+D+I, EDU2011‐29928‐C03‐03)] is to gain a deeper understanding of the analysis of the discourses that different education professionals in the Spanish education system have on student participation in schools, based on the premise that they tacitly reflect different models of democracy and advance very diverse school practices. The study is based on the Student Voice Movement, which is defined by its commitment to deliberative democratic education and its role in the development of inclusive schools. In this article, we have conducted a qualitative analysis of the data from 31 in‐depth interviews carried out with teachers and other education professionals from nine schools. These teachers’ discourses are summarised in four dimensions, which we have named individual, pedagogical, organisational and socio‐political. Some conclusions of this work demonstrate a predominance of discourses linked to an individual and pedagogical dimension of participation, based on the idea that this fundamentally depends on the personal dispositions that some students have. It is less common to appeal to the socio‐political dimension, which refers to participation as a citizen's right to debate and make decisions regarding common and public affairs. This suggests that teachers still see their work from a technical point of view, rather than envisaging the school as a space for democratic participation and practice. In short, with this study we aim to contribute to normative theories on participation and democracy in order to expand their empirical and practical support in schools.

Student voice in school reform? Desiring simultaneous critique and affirmation

ABSTRACT While ‘student voice’ is advocated as a means for school reform, studies of its enactment have noted how student voice can become a technology of governance. This article works with the perplexities of a four-year funded period of reform at one secondary school, where a ‘student voice’ initiative and a Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports programme gradually entwined. Complementing and extending a Foucauldian account of power as productive, Deleuze and Guattari’s desiring-analysis generates simultaneous accounts of governance, resistance and affirmation. Mapping what behaviour tokens did, and what was done with these tokens, does not undermine the importance of ‘listening’ to students’ (and teachers’) voices, nor the incisive potential of critique, but rather considers latent pathways out of present repetitious patterns of school governance. It is argued that working with these simultaneous movements of voice may foster more productive conversations about perplexing school reform processes.

Experience Focussed Counselling with Voice Hearers as a Trauma-Sensitive Approach. Results of a Qualitative Thematic Enquiry.

The individual approach of the Hearing Voices Movement, Experience Focussed Counselling or Making Sense of Voices, claims a strong life context and trauma focus. This qualitative study represented the first to explore whether Experience Focussed Counselling with voice hearers, when compared to Treatment As Usual, could be considered trauma-sensitive. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews with voice hearers and mental health professionals in routine German mental health settings were analysed as part of an Applied Thematic Analysis. Overall themes identified were: trauma related; dealing with emotions; process of working with voices; intra- and interpersonal life; and coping related. Experience Focussed Counselling was considered helpful in understanding and working on unresolved trauma-related areas of distress. The same did not apply to Treatment As Usual. Findings support Experience Focussed Counselling as a trauma-sensitive intervention in hearing voices. Frontline mental health staff can potentially support voice hearers in identifying and working on trauma-related voices and emotions.

Aligning Computational Psychiatry With the Hearing Voices Movement

Aligning Computational Psychiatry With the Hearing Voices Movement

The Hearing Voices Movement as Postmodern Religion-Making: Meaning, Power, Sacralization, Identity.

Over the past 40 or 50 years, scholars of religion have frequently attempted to use the tools of social science to analyse, describe, and explain the relevance and persistence of religion in the modern world. With the bold predictions of the secularization thesis as their stimuli, many sociologists and anthropologists preferred to focus on the under-explored, marginalized, or otherwise unexpected expressions of religion within those ostensibly secularizing contexts. Such studies have led to an abundance of theories and accompanying terms: "implicit religion," "vernacular religion," "vicarious religion," "lived religion," "popular religion," and "folk religion." Without choosing any one of these, but owing much to their shared-arguably postmodern-themes of commonplace sacrality and personal empowerment, this paper seeks to explore the possibility of the Hearing Voices Movement (HVM) as an example of religion-making. HVM is a growing force of "voice-hearers" from at least 28 countries who have formed user-led networks for activism and mental health recovery. More importantly, it is argued that HVM blends meaning-making, postmodern notions of identity in relation to power structures, and ritual embodiment, resulting in a striking example of sociologist Hans Mol's notion of religion as a sacralizing process.

Лирический генезис музыки и над-, внеиндивидуальные формы его проявления в храмовом гимнопении Китая и Европы.

Цель работы. Исследование связано с поиском лирического принципа выражения по его генезису и развитию в культовом гимнопении. Недооценка религиозных истоков искусства в музыкальной сфере чревата потерей ориентиров на идеальную специфику этого вида творчества, что в условиях современной экспансии шоу-бизнеса затрудняет сохранность этого рода художественного достояния. Методология исследования определяется опорой на интонационное видение специфики музыки, что вводит стилевой компаратив и историко-логический методы в качестве базовых, позволяя выявить смысловую парадигматику музыки, заложенную ее ритуально-религиозным истоком. Научная новизна состоит в расширении представлений о лирике как обусловливаемой вне- и надличностным характером выразительности храмового пения. Сравнительный анализ храмовой лирики в Китае и в Европе выводит на универсально-человеческие принципы музыкальной выразительности, черпающие в культе истоки высокой абстракции ее символики и экстатики. Выводы. В гимнопении происходит формирование лирической полноты возвышения над бытийностью – в пении как преодолении речевой ограниченности диапазона, как гипертрофии круговых движений голоса в виде фигуративных построений, как способ запечатления высокого без-волия, противостоящего моделям волевых устремлений, которые имеют место в музыке, выстроенной в гармонической вводнотонности.Ключевые слова: лирический генезис, лирика, гимнопение, храмовость.